Central banks are now taking digital currencies seriously, and the EU is exploring the idea. While an “e-euro” could increase monetary security and stability, the venture is not without risks.
Counterfeiting has become a billion-dollar problem for countries all around the world.
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The global trade of counterfeit and pirated products costs countries like Canada billions a year. Governments and industries must come together to protect Canadians.
VR headsets are key to realising the Metaverse.
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Even though some traditional financial firms parked millions in the bankrupt company – once valued at $30 billion – the impact of FTX’s spectacular crash is limited to crypto investors
The rise of decentralised exchanges and growing regulatory pressure could strengthen crypto.
Traditionally, institutions own and control certifications like degrees, but that could shift with ‘digital degrees’ and microcredentials that rely on blockchain.
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Students gain control over their own academic records or professional certifications, but blockchain’s immutability means mistakes cannot be erased.
Blockchain transactions are carried in blocks. The amount of energy it takes to add a new block varies widely depending on how it’s done.
Yuichiro Chino/Moment via Getty Images
Ethereum, one of the world’s largest blockchains and host of decentralized finance, NFTs and billions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency, is poised to dramatically reduce its energy consumption.
As the possibilities of the metaverse expand, it will occupy an increasing role in everyday life.
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As businesses establish themselves in the metaverse, the amount of financial transactions there will increase. This will come with previously unknown risks.
Some of the of 19,000 private cryptos in use by end of June 2022. Users have increased sharply in Africa after the COVID-19 outbreak. Silas Stein/Picture Alliance via
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Retailers are increasingly resorting to the technology in a bid to increase consumer confidence over their products’ supply chain.
The metaverse might be a work in progress, but a key prototype – the virtual world – has been around for several decades.
Screen capture from Second Life by Tom Boellstorff
NFTs are hailed as the foundation of the metaverse economy because they allow you to purchase unique digital assets, from art to real estate. But legally, you might not own what you think you do.
Many people promoting cryptocurrencies are looking for something bigger than the future of financial transactions. They’re aiming to break free of governments and corporations.
Bitcoin’s annual electricity consumption is more than three times New Zealand’s – those hidden environmental costs must be part of any future regulation.
Beeple’s NFT art sale propelled NFTs into the public consciousness.
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Whether the cryptocurrency hype makes you crypto curious or crypto skeptical, there are many ways your life could be affected by crypto’s underlying technology, blockchain.
Professor of Computer Science, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Cornell Tech, and Co-Director, Initiative for CryptoCurrencies and Contracts (IC3), Cornell University
Associate Director, Initiative For Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (IC3); Assistant Prof. of Electrical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology